James thornton



(No Model.) l

J. THORNTON.

i Y TRACE BUGKLB. N. 274,849. Patentd Maun27g1883.`

NV PETERS. PhMLitMg-lphv. Walbinlton. D. C.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' JAMES THORNTON, OF \VELL`SVILLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TOHORACE G. DOBBIN'S, OF SAME PLACE. i

To all whom t may concern TRACE-BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NoA 274,849, dated March27, 1883.

" Application nien December 19, 1ste.l No modem Be it known that I,JAMES THORNTON, of Wellsville,in the county ofAllegany and State ofNewYork,haveinventednew and useful Im- VIO provements in Trace-Buckles, ofwhich the following is a specification.

' This invention relates to an improvement in that class oftrace-buckles in which the trace is clamped between the bed of thebuckle and the tongue-plate pivoted to the .buckle-frame by means of abail which is attached to the hame-tug, and which bears against' thepivoted tongue-plate. l

The object of my invention is so to construct the buckle that it willpermit the easy adjustment of the trace and admit traces of differentthicknesses with equal. ease and safety, and that it shall be simple inconstruction and posi Sess great strength and durability.

My invention consists of the particular improvements in the constructionot' the buckle,

which will be hereinafter fully described, and

pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front view ofthe buckle. QFig.2 is an edge 'view thereof. Fig; Sis a longitudinal section,

and Fig. et is a rear elevation, of the buckle. Fig. 5 is an endelevation of thc buckle with the strap and bail removed.

Like letters of'reference refer to like' parts in the several figures. Y

Arepresents the hametug, and B the trace.

C represents the bedl of the buckleframe, provided on both sides withcurved bars c c, to which the straps oi' the harness are at-`tached,"and which form loops or openings on of the hame-tuglplays.

e e represent two curved arms which rise from the rear end ofthe bed C,and which are connected by an elevated cross-piece, j'. The arms e e areprovided near the cross-piece f with concave depressions or seats g g,and the cross-piece f is provided near its middle with aforwardly-projecting lip, h. 4

I representsthe tongue-plate, and the both sides of the bed C, inwhichthe bailD tongue formed on the under side of the same.

J is an oval opening formed in the bed O of the buckle, underneath thetongue t'. The

tongue-plate I is provided at its rear end with two laterally-projectingpivotal lugs, kk, which are seated in the depressions g g ofthe arms ee. The tongue-plate I is also provided ator near the middle of its rearend with a pivotal bar, Z, which is arranged in line with thelugs k 7c,and which engages under the lip h when the lugs k lc restin the bearingsgg. In order to attach the tongue-plate to the buckle-frame, it is onlynecessary to close the lip h down over the bar'l of the tongue-plate,the latter being provided with an opening, m, which permits theapplication of a propertool to effect the bending ofthe lip h. Thetongue-plate I is provided at its front end with a loop, mand thecross-piece f is provided with a loop, o. The tongueplate ismadestraight from its pivot to the tongue, and is turned u p slightly atitsftront end beyond the tongue to permit the tongue-plate to be easilytaken hold of when the buckle is to bewithdrawn from the trace.

The barscc, formingloops on both sides of the bed C, are provided ontheir under sidkes, near the rear end of the bed O, with grooves ordepressions p p, in which the side bars of the bail D engage, andwhereby the bail is guided and held" against lateral displacement. Thebail is attached to the hame-tug by means ot' a screw-bolt, q, whichconnects the rear ends of the side bars with the bail.

Instead of securing the tongue-plate tothe buckle-frame by closing thelip h down over the bar Z of the tongue-plate after annealingthebuckle-frame, the lip It may be cast in the shape of a hook openingdownwardly, so as tol permit the tongue-plate to be slipped into placeunder the lip when its frontend is dropped down upon the bed of thebuckle, so that the tongue projects through the hole J in the bed. Theton gue-plate will then be securely attached to the buckleframe when itis in its operative position. The lugs k 7c give the tongue-plate a widebearing against the buckle-frame, andV enable the tongue-plate to resistthe strains to which it is subjected without requiring the plate to bemade very heavy. The bail D straddles the bed C ofthe buckle, and isthere by permanently attached to the buckle when 2 Y v evase!) thescrew-bolt g is in place, while the bail is at the same time permittedall necessary freedom of movement.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, in a buckle, of a frame vthe side bars, c, whereby the bail is permanently attached to the bucklewhen the bolt q is in place, substantially/.as set forth.

2. The combination, in a buckle, of a bail, D, a buckle-frame providedwith recesses g g,

and a lip, h, and a tongue-plate provided with lugs 7c 7c, seated in therecesses g g, and a bar, l, engaging under the lip h, substantially asset forth.

3. The combination, With a buckle, of a frame provided With a bed, C,having an opening,.J, and side loops, c c, a tongue-plate, I, providedwith lugs 7c k, and a bai', l, held respectively in the recesses g g andunder the lip h, and a bail, D, attached to the hame-tng-and guided inrecesses p p on the under side of the buckle,l substantially as setforth.

JAMES THORNTON.

Witnesses:

W. E. MINNELEY, W. T. THORNTON.

